Rotary device



July 25, 1967 v. H. B. WILHITE ROTARY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.16, 1965 INVENTOR. VERBON H.B. WILHITE ATTORNEY July 25, 1967 v. H. B.WILHITE ROTARY DEVI CE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 16, 1965 W b 8 4 w,

INVENTOR. VERBON H.B.W|L,H|TE

FIG. 3

BY EM 0W ATTORNEY United States Patent 3 ,332,235 ROTARY DEVICE VerbonH. B. Wilhite, Brigham City, Utah, assignor to Thiokol ChemicalCorporation, Bristol, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16,1965, Ser. No. 514,287 Claims. (Cl. 60-3955) This invention relates to adrive mechanism and, more particularly, to means for rotating a driveshaft or other rotatable member at a predetermined angular velocity.

By means of a preferred embodiment of this invention a drive shaft isrotated at a predetermined angular velocity, said embodiment comprisinga source of high velocity gas, such as a solid propellant gas generator,and one or more deflectors that are carried by the shaft and arranged todeflect the flow of the gas relative thereto. More particularly, apreferred embodiment of this invention comprises a flywheel mounted on arotatable drive shaft, a gas generator mounted on the drive shaft andadapted to discharge gas jets tangentially to the flywheel atdiametrically opposed points thereon, and two deflectors each pivotallymounted on the flywheel so as to be respectively movable, as a result ofthe centrifugal force exerted there-on during the rotation of saidshaft, into the paths of the gas jets. Thus, the tangential forceexerted against the flywheel mounted on the drive shaft of theprefer-red embodiment can conveniently be varied by, for example,increasing or decreasing the mass of the deflectors connected to saidflywheel, or by varying the flow of gas from the gas generator of saidembodiment.

Accordingly, it is a broad object of this invention to provide a devicefor rotating a drive shaft or other rotatable member at a predeterminedangular velocity.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for rotating adrive shaft at a predetermined angular velocity by means of a source ofhigh velocity gas.

An additional object of this invention is to provide means for applyingforce to a drive shaft so as to impart rotational motion thereto and forvarying the direction of this force relative to the drive shaft inaccordance with the angular velocity thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bereadily understood by consideration of the following description of apreferred embodiment thereof, in which reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthe invention, one component of the embodiment being broken away forclarity;

FIGURE 2 is a View of the preferred embodiment taken along the planerepresented by line 22 in FIG. 1, one component of the embodiment beingillustrated in cross section; and

FIGURE 3 is a full longitudinal sectional view of the preferredembodiment, taken along the plane represented by line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

Throughout the specification and drawings like reference numbers referto like parts.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 through '3, a preferred embodiment of thisinvention is provided with a gas generator in the form of a cylindricalcasing having first and second end closures respectively secured toopposite ends thereof, these end closures being designated by thenumbers 12, 14 respectively. End closure 12 has a central aperture 16therein, i.e., the longitudinal axis of said aperture is coincident withthe longitudinal axis of casing 10. A combustible gas-generating charge18 is disposed within casing 10, one face 20 of this charge being spacedfrom the inner surface of end closure 12. One end of a cylindricalmember 22 is fixedly connected to 3,332,235 Patented July 25, 1967 eachincluding an internal passage 26a, 26b (illustrated by broken lines inthe drawing) the inner end of which communicates with the interior ofmember 22 and the outer end of which terminates at an orifice 28a, 28bthe linear, terminal portion of which is disposed transverse to thecommon longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22. More particularly,orifices 28a, 28b are equidistant from the common longitudinal axis ofcasing 10 and member 22, and as can be seen in FIG. 2, the linear,terminal portions of said orfices are perpendicular to surfaces 29a, 29bof ducts 24a, 24b, which surfaces lie in a plane that also includes thecommon longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22. A flywheel 30 isfixedly attached to the side of each duct 24a, 24b which faces away fromcasing 10, the longitudinal axis of said flywheel being coincident withthe common longitudinal axis of casing 10 and member 22. First andsecond shafts 32a, 32b are respectively fixedly connected at one endthereof to end closure 14 and flywheel 30, and the longitudinal axes ofthese shafts are coincident with the common longitudinal axis of casing10, member 22 and flywheel 30.

Each of a repair of elongated deflectors 34a, 34b is pivotally connectedat one end thereof to flywheel 30 by means of a pivot pin 36a, 36bhaving a head portion 38a, 38b and an integral shank portion whichextends through a hole in said deflector and which is fixedly engagedwithin a hole in said flywheel (see FIG. 3, wherein both the head andshank portions of pivot pin 36b is illustrated). As can be seen in FIG.2., each pivot pin 36a, 36b is located adjacent a respective one of theorifices 28a, 28b in ducts 24a, 24b and is disposed in- Wardly thereof(i.e., the orifice is farther from the longitudinal axis of flywheel 30than the pivot pin that is biased against its stop pin by means of atension spring 44a, 44b which is connected to a support pin 46a, 46bfixedly engaged within a hole formed in the free end of the deflectorand projecting perpendicularly from the surface thereof that facescasing 10, and which is also connected to a support pin 48a, 48b fixedlyengaged within a hole in flywheel 30' and projecting perpendicularlyfrom the surface 37 thereof. Each of the support pins 46a, 46b, 48a, 48bcomprises head and shank portions that, for the sake of simplicity, arenot separately identified in the drawings. It will be seen that springs44a, 44b respectively act to rotate deflectors 34a, 34b about theirpivot pins 36a, 36b so that the free ends of said deflectors are biasedinwardly (i.e., toward the longitudinal axis of flywheel 30).

The described rotary device is also provided with conventional bearingmeans (not shown) for rotatably supporting shafts 32a, 32b and with aconventional igniter (not shown) for igniting charge 18. It will beobvious that the structural components of rotary device may be formed ofa great variety of well-known materials and that charge 18 may compriseany one of the many materials, such as suitable solid propellants, thatare presently employed for gas generation.

When surface 20 of charge 18 is ignited the gas generated by combustionof said charge flows through member 22 and the passages 26a, 26b inducts 24a, 24b and is discharged from the orifices 28a, 28b in saidducts in the form of two high velocity jets, the line of thrust 50a, 50bof each of said jets being spaced from the common longitudinal axis ofshafts 32a, 32b, casing member 22 and flywheel 30 and disposedtransverse thereto. Thus the thrust of the two gas jets discharged fromorifices 28a, 28b causes the rotary device to rotate about the bearingmeans which support shafts 32a, 32b in the direction indicated by thearrows in FIG. 1. As the angular velocity of the rotary deviceincreases, the resultant centrifugal force exerted upon each deflector34a, 34b causes it to pivot about its pivot pin 36a, 36b to a positionthereof such as is illustrated in FIG. 1, i.e., to a position whereinthe deflector intercepts the gas jet discharged from the orifice 28a,28b adjacent thereto. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the line of thrust ofeach of the gas jets discharged from orifices 28a, 28b is substantiallycoincident with the longitudinal axis of the linear portion of saidorifice. For the purpose of interpretation of claims appended hereto,the pivotal motion of each deflector 34a, 34b can therefore be definedas being between a first position wherein the deflector is disposedsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the orifice 28a, 28bthat is adjacent thereto and a second position wherein the deflectorintercepts said longitudinal axis of the same orifice. Since theorientation of the aforementioned gas jets relative to flywheel 30 (andto the other components of the rotary device) is varied when deflectorsare disposed, for example, in the position illustrated by broken linesin FIG. 2, the torque applied to the rotary device depends upon theposition of said deflectors. The angular velocity of the rotary devicebecomes constant when the forces acting upon it reach a state ofequilibrium, which depends upon such factors as the external load orfriction which resists rotation of the rotary device, the impulse of thegas jets discharged from orifices 28a, 28b, the mass and modulus ofelasticity of springs 44a, 44b, and the mass of deflectors 34a, 34b andother components of the rotary device. Consequently, the angularvelocity of the preferred embodiment of the invention can convenientlybe governed by varying one of the aforementioned factors.

It will be obvious that many modifications can be made in the rotarydevice herein described without departing in any way from the conceptsof the invention. For example, in some cases springs 44a, 44b may not berequired, and other means for resiliently biasing deflectors 34a, 34btoward stop pins 42a, 42b may, of course, be substituted for saidsprings. The thrust means used to impart rotational motion to theflywheel 30 may comprise liquid or solid propellant rocket motorsmounted on the periphery of said flywheel, or may be any other suitablemeans that can discharge a gas or other fluid at a velocity suflicientlyhigh to effect the required angular velocity of a particular rotarydevice. Furthermore, the utility of embodiments of the invention is notlimited to use in rotating a shaft about its longitudinal axis, sinceobviously the principles of the invention can be applied to govern theangular velocity of any member or body driven by fluid jets. Therefore,although the invention has been disclosed with reference to a specificembodiment thereof, it is to be understood that this embodiment has beenpresented for the purpose of example only, the scope of the inventionbeing limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary device comprising:

a rotatable member;

thrust means carried by said member and adapted to impart rotationalmotion thereto by discharging a fluid the line of thrust of which isspaced from the axis of rotation of said member and disposed transversethereto; and

a deflector carried by said member and adapted to pivot about a pointthereon so that it intercepts said fluid discharged from said thrustmeans as said shaft is rotated and centrifugal force is exerted uponsaid deflector.

2. A rotary device as defined in claim 1 including means for resilientlybiasing said deflector away from said fluid discharged from said thrustmeans until the centrifugal force exerted upon said deflector reaches apredetermined level.

3. A rotary device comprising:

a cylindrical casing having first and second end closures respectivelysecured to opposite ends thereof, said first end closure having acentral aperture therein;

a gas-generating charge disposed within said casing;

a cylindrical member fixedly connected at one end thereof to said firstend closure, the interior of said cylindrical member communicating withthe interior of said casing through said aperture in said first endclosure, the longitudinal axis of said cylindrical member beingsubstantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of said casing;

a pair of ducts fixedly connected to the other end of said cylindricalmember, said ducts projecting from opposite sides of said cylindricalmember and each including an internal passage the inner end of whichcommunicates with the interior of said cylindrical member and the outerend of which terminates at an orifice the longitudinal axis of which isdisposed transverse to the common longitudinal axis of said casing andcylindrical member;

a flywheel fixedly attached to said ducts, the longitudinal axis of saidflywheel being substantially coincident with the common longitudinalaxis of said casing and cylindrical member;

a pair of deflectors each having one end thereof pivotally connected tosaid flywheel at a point adjacent a respective one of said orifices insaid ducts and disposed inwardly, thereof, each of said deflectors beingrotatable between a first position thereof wherein it is disposedsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said orifice adjacentthereto and a second position thereof wherein said deflector interceptssaid longitudinal axis of the same orifice;

first and second shafts fixedly connected at one end thereof to saidsecond end closure and said flywheel respectively, the longitudinal axisof said shafts being substantially coincident with the commonlongitudinal axis of said casing, cylindrical member and flywheel;

bearing means for rotatably supporting said first and second shafts; and

means for igniting said grain, whereby gas is discharged from saidorifices in said ducts, said rotary device is rotated about thelongitudinal axis of said shafts, and said deflectors are subjected tocentrifugal force and respectively pivoted relative to said flywheel sothat they intercept said gas discharged from each of said orifices.

4. A rotary device as defined in claim 3 including:

bias means for resiliently biasing the free end of each of saiddeflectors toward the common longitudinal axis of said flywheel, casingand cylindrical member; and

stop means for limiting the movement of each of said deflectors towardthe common longitudinal axis of said flywheel, casing and cylindricalmember under the force exerted thereon by said bias means.

5. A rotary device as defined in claim 4 wherein:

said bias means comprise a pair of tension springs 3 5 6 each connectedat one end thereof to the free end References Cited of a respective oneof said deflectors and at the UNITED STATES PATENTS tg i igggzfgg 322x33 apomt adjacent 3,120,739 2/1964 Zillman et a1. 6039.35 3,210,92910/1965 Thomanek 6039.35 X sald stop means comprlse a paxr of pmsmounted on 5 said flywheel. CARLTON R. CROYLE, Primary Examiner.

1. A ROTARY DEVICE COMPRISING: A ROTATABLE MEMBER; THRUST MEANS CARRIEDBY SAID MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO IMPART ROTATIONAL MOTION THERETO BYDISCHARGING A FLUID THE LINE OF THRUST OF WHICH IS SPACED FROM THE AXISOF ROTATION OF SAID MEMBER AND DISPOSED TRANSVERSE THERETO; AND ADEFLECTOR CARRIED BY SAID MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO PIVOT ABOUT A POINTTHEREON SO THAT IT INTERCEPTS SAID FLUID DISCHARGED FROM SAID THRUSTMEANS AS SAID SHAFT IS ROTATED AND CENTRIFUGAL FORCE IS EXERTED UPONSAID DEFLECTOR.